Grote, George

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Grote, George (1794–1871). Grote, whose family came from Exeter, was a banker, politician, and historian. After attending Charterhouse, he joined the family bank at 16. Greatly influenced by Bentham and James Mill, he took an active part in the foundation of the University of London, keenly supporting the admission of women. From 1832 until 1841 he was a radical MP for London and in April 1833 moved for the first time for secret ballot, a cause with which he is associated: he was defeated by 211 to 106. He did not stand for re-election in 1841 and gave up his banking interest to devote his time to finishing his History of Greece. Volumes i and ii came out in 1846 and the twelfth and final volume in 1856. He followed it with three volumes on Plato in 1865. From 1868 he was president of University College London, to which he left endowments and his brain.

J. A. Cannon

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